Modern computing devices often have the capability of determining positional information. For example, many modern computing devices incorporate Global Positioning System (GPS) capabilities that enable those computing devices to utilize the Global Positioning System to determine their location, their speed, and other like positional information. Other modern computing devices, such as those that do not incorporate GPS capabilities, can, nevertheless, have access to information that can enable those computing devices to determine positional information. For example, computing devices comprising cellular capability can utilize signal triangulation and other like mechanisms to determine their location based on the signals they receive from cellular communication towers or base stations. Similarly, computing devices comprising wireless networking capability can determine their location based on, for example, known locations of wireless networks with which such computing devices may be communicationally coupled.
Computing devices that comprise the capability of determining positional information are fairly ubiquitous. For example, many users carry with them a cellular computing device, a personal navigation computing device, a tablet computing device, or other like portable computing devices. Additionally, users own or operate equipment that itself comprises computing devices that can determine positional information. For example, many modern vehicles comprise in-vehicle navigation computing devices, or other like computing devices, which, in addition to providing computing services within the vehicle, can also determine the vehicle's position and other positional information.
The positional information acquired by computing devices, or on behalf of computing devices by the infrastructure that those computing devices utilize, such as cellular communication networks, GPS systems and other wireless communication networks, can be utilized to improve geographic information. For example, the positional information from a myriad of computing devices can provide information regarding the precise locations of roads, whether certain roads are open or closed, whether certain interchanges exist, and whether they are in use or not, and other like geographic information. The positional information from a myriad of computing devices can further provide information regarding various restrictions that may be imposed upon roads, or other geographic locations, such as roads that support multiple different directions of travel depending on time of day, interchanges that can limit turns during certain times of day, parks that may be open or closed depending on the season, and other like restrictions.
Unfortunately, positional information, by its very nature, conveys personally identifiable information that can comprise information that many users would not wish to have disseminated. For example, positional information that identifies a user leaving a particular residence and traveling to a particular place of employment can be fairly easily linked to a specific person, since it is likely that only one individual working at that place of employment lives at the residence. Thus, even though there was no other identifying information, the mere positional information by itself enabled the identification of a user. In such a manner a user's activities could be tracked and monitored. Consequently, benefits from positional information, such as improved and updated geographic information, cannot be realized unless positional information can be presented such that the derivation of personally identifiable information therefrom is minimized.